Regular readers might remember me having a wobbly time in the garden last year. Life was lifing (as the kids say) and with that came many hiccups and failures. The veg patch had a wanton disregard for my hopes during growing season, which taught me the importance of finding value and beauty in what was growing, instead of lamenting all that was not. … Read more
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There was King Charles and David Beckham as well as a nocturnal garden to support bats and a Viking-themed allotment full of edible plants in pots. The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea flower show, which ends on Saturday, was as lovely and celebrity-glittered as ever, most agreed. But dig a little deeper, say critics on the … Read more
Rain in early May has helped alleviate the dearth of April showers. Along narrow lanes, the drifts of bluebells, interspersed with cow parsley, campions and seeding stitchwort, are already overwhelmed by ferns. The succession of buckler, lady, hart’s-tongue, male, scaly male and soft shield – the latest to unfurl from its crozier-like fronds – will … Read more
Gardens do not have to be perfect to be beautiful – and neither do teenagers. That is the central message behind the Children’s Society garden, which has won a gold medal at this year’s RHS Chelsea flower show. And prickly poppies, a bird’s nest fern planted in a drain and verbascum arcturus, a delicate-looking yellow … Read more
In 2010 Colin Chee picked up the keys to his 37 square metre off-the-plan apartment in Melbourne’s city centre. “It was only then that I realised how shit it was.” With no design experience and a limited budget, his quest to find inspiration eventually led to the birth of Never Too Small, a YouTube channel … Read more
The architect and gardener Peter Aldington, who has died aged 93, had a following and influence out of proportion to the relatively modest quantity of his buildings over a span of little more than 20 years. The relationship between quantity and quality came mainly from a refusal to compromise. His attention to detail and materials, … Read more
The problemTaking cuttings is one of the most satisfying things you can do as a plant owner, but most people lack confidence. Stems sit in water for weeks doing nothing, or collapse in soil before roots appear. So when a hack promises to speed things up using nothing more than a raw potato, news travels fast. The … Read more
Some will want to touch the Stachys byzantina, an evergreen plant with leaves so velvety soft its common name is lamb’s ear. Others will want to smell the star jasmine, taste the plethora of herbs or listen to the “sensory soundscape” inspired by bioelectric signals of the surrounding plants. When the Sightsavers sensory garden opens … Read more